Regrettably, miss promotion after top grade, always (9)

I believe the answer is:

alackaday

'regrettably' is the definition.
(archaic expression similar to 'alas')

'miss promotion after top grade always' is the wordplay.
'miss' becomes 'lack' (lacking is a kind of missing**).
'promotion' becomes 'ad' (ad is a kind of promotion).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'top grade' becomes 'a'.
'always' becomes 'ay'.
'lack'+'ad'='lackad'
'lackad' after 'a' is 'alackad'.
'alackad'+'ay'='ALACKADAY'

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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